This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 11-212185, filed Jul. 27, 1999, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a camera having a function of detection an amount of blurring acting on the camera.
Conventionally, a camera (e.g., Japanese Patent Application KOKOKU No. 1-53957 Publication) which detects a blurring of a photographer acting on the camera and partially drives a photographing lens to cancel the blurring so as to correct the blurring and a camera (e.g., Registered Publication 2842662) which controls a shutter to open the shutter at a timing at a small blurring occurs so as to decrease the influence of the blurring are well known.
In a camera having a function of detecting such a blurring, when a so-called panning operation and a tilt operation for moving a camera body in one direction, a blurring detection sensor observes an amount of blurring which is considerably larger than that in a normal photographing operation in one direction. For this reason, it is also known that the panning operation or the tilt operation can be detected on the basis of an output from the blurring detection sensor.
As one of advanced techniques for photographing, a panning shot is known. This technique is a photographing method which performs a panning operation of a camera in accordance with the motion of an object moving in a lateral direction and performs exposure with a slow shutter during the operation to express a feeling of motion.
As a conventional technique related to the panning shot, the following techniques are known.
More specifically, a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 5-216104 is as follows. That is, a high-frequency component is removed from an output from the blurring detection sensor to check whether the camera is in a panning state or not. If it is determined that the camera is in the panning state, a blurring correction device is prohibited from being operated.
A technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 5-232562 is as follows. That is, it is checked on the basis of an output from a blurring detection sensor whether a panning shot is performed or not, and a shutter speed appropriate to the panning shot is set.
In this manner, in both the conventional techniques, it is checked on the basis of an output from a blurring detection sensor whether a panning shot is performed or not.
However, according to the conventional technique disclosed Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 5-216104 or No. 5-232562, it can be reliably checked whether the camera is in a panning state or not, but it cannot be checked whether a possibility that the panning shot be succeeded is high or not. More specifically, the check is performed on the basis of an output from only the blurring detection sensor, it is only understood that the camera performs a panning operation in a predetermined direction.
In this case, the state in which xe2x80x9cpanning shot is succeededxe2x80x9d is a state in which a moving object serving as a main object is photographed as a still image, and a background flows in the moving direction of the object. A state in which the background and the moving object flow together with each other does not mean that a panning shot is succeeded.
This photographing method is difficult for a beginner of a panning shot. The following problems are posed. That is, it cannot be understood that a panning shot is succeeded or not, or a shutter speed does not become slow when photographing is performed in a normal program mode, so that a picture having a slight feeling of motion is obtained.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and has as its object to provide a camera which makes it possible that a photographer knows whether a panning shot is succeeded or not and which has a blurring detection function which can obtain a picture in which the improved effect of a panning shot is improved.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera having a blurring detection function comprising:
a blurring detection unit for detecting an amount of blurring;
a focal point detection unit for detecting an in-focus state of a photographing lens to output a focal point detection signal; and
a panning shot success check unit for checking whether a panning shot which photographs an object moving in a photographing screen is succeeded or not on the basis of outputs from the blurring detection unit and the focal point detection unit.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera having a blurring detection function comprising:
a blurring detection unit for detecting an amount of blurring;
a focal point detection unit for detecting an in-focus state of a photographing lens to output a focal point detection signal;
a panning shot mode setting unit for setting the camera in a panning shot mode;
a panning shot success check unit for checking whether a panning shot is succeeded or not on the basis of outputs from the blurring detection unit and the focal point detection unit when the panning shot mode is set by the panning shot mode setting unit; and
a vibration isolation mode setting unit for setting the camera in a vibration isolation mode.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera having a blurring detection function comprising:
a blurring detection unit for detecting an amount of blurring;
a focal point detection unit for detecting an in-focus state of a photographing lens to output a focal point detection signal;
a panning shot mode setting member for setting the camera in a panning shot mode;
a panning shot success check unit for checking whether a panning shot is succeeded or not on the basis of outputs from the blurring detection unit and the focal point detection unit when the panning shot mode is set by the panning shot mode setting member;
a vibration isolation mode setting unit for setting the camera in a vibration isolation mode;
a photographing mode setting unit having at least a photographing mode in which an exposure value is set by the intention of a photographer;
a shutter speed change unit for changing a shutter speed from a high speed to a low speed when it is determined by the panning shot success check unit that the panning shot is succeeded; and
a control unit for prohibiting an operation of the shutter speed change unit when the photographing mode in which the exposure value is set by the intention of the photographer is set by the photographing mode setting unit, and for permitting an operation of the shutter speed change unit when the photographing mode in which the exposure value is not set by the intention of the photographer is set by the photographing mode setting unit.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of performing a panning shot process in a panning shot mode for photographing an object moving in a photographing screen in a camera having a blurring detection function, comprising:
a panning shot state check step for checking whether the camera is set in a panning shot state;
a focal point detection step for loading a plurality of outputs at different times from a focal point detection unit when it is determined in the panning shot check step that the camera is set in the panning shot state;
a correlation calculation step for performing a correlation calculation on the basis of the plurality of outputs loaded in the focal point detection step;
a panning shot success check step of checking whether a panning shot is succeeded or not on the basis of the correlation calculation in the correlation calculation step; and
a display step of displaying that the panning shot is succeeded when it is determined in the panning shot success check step that the camera is set in the panning shot state.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.